Sorry LeBron, the NBA seems committed to Memphis for the Grizzlies

Commissioner Adam Silver's comments should come as some relief

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Fans of the Memphis Grizzlies can exhale.... a bit.

After a tumultuous season, which saw a trade of a franchise pillar (Jaren Jackson Jr.), the almost-trade and extended absence of the former leading man (Ja Morant), 31 players get their turn as injuries piled up and the tanking intensified and plenty of gratuitious shots taken by NBA superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant at the suitability of Memphis as an NBA city.....

It appears the NBA commissioner has the team's back.

For now, at least.

In an interview with Pardon My Take on Barstool Sports, Adam Silver was asked about the Memphis situation and where it stands now and into the future.

The Memphis Grizzlies aren’t going anywhere pic.twitter.com/u6yyNHW17C

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) April 22, 2026

"Well, first of all, players I talk to all the time like playing in Memphis," Silver said. "I've never heard that issues of players not wanting to be in Memphis. "Number two, the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, a guy named Robert Pera, has no interest in moving the team out of Memphis, he's made that clear."

Some of the speculation about a move has been related to the presence of Nashville, which already has the NFL's Titans and NHL's Predators, and is healthier overall economic condition than its sister Tennessee city.

Like, for instance, this from James on a golf course for a video podcast last month:

LeBron James on playing the Grizzlies:

“I’m f***ing 41 years of age. You think I want to do sh** in Memphis on a random Thursday? I’m not the first guy in the NBA to talk about this. You guys got to move the team… go over to Nashville already.”

(via @leaguealerts) pic.twitter.com/ZN5y5vRg2p

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 2, 2026

“I’m f***ing 41 years of age. You think I want to do sh** in Memphis on a random Thursday? I’m not the first guy in the NBA to talk about this. You guys got to move the team… go over to Nashville already.”

Silver spoke about that as well.

"Obviously Nashville is a city on the rise, there's incredible things happening there," Silver said. "If it were up to me, I'd love for them to play a few games a year in Nashville, and sort of be Tennessee's team to the extent they can. But Memphis has been a great market historically for the NBA. There's amazing history in that city, amazing culture. And it's a big country. So as I look out at our 30 teams, we want teams to do well everywhere. We have a revenue sharing system, etc. But from my standpoint, there's no reason why the Memphis Grizzlies can't be successful."

They may not be successful on the floor for a couple more seasons, depending on how quickly this rebuild goes -- but they do have three of the top 32 picks in a strong upcoming NBA draft, and this was a 50-win franchise not all that long ago.

The NBA is planning expansion to at least two markets, with Las Vegas and Seattle most mentioned. Maybe Nashville gets in the mix there eventually. But for the time being, at least, so much as they can all be trusted, it does not appear that the decision-makers, from ownership to the league, are intent on taking a time away from a current fan base.